Door open for Finn Allen to take Kane Williamson's ODI World Cup spot

With a glaring hole in the Black Caps’ 50-over top order, New Zealand national selection manager Gavin Larsen concedes the door is open for T20 specialist Finn Allen at next year’s World Cup in South Africa.

While Kane Williamson’s international retirement has so far seen discourse around how he’s replaced in test cricket, the 35-year-old’s exit also leaves a considerable void at No 3 in the One-Day International side.

However, considering the nature of white ball cricket in the modern age, the Black Caps have quietly built plenty of depth in the top order batting spots. None, though, boast the sheer game-changing attributes that Allen does.

Earlier this year, the 27-year-old smashed a record-breaking 33-ball century against South Africa, to lead the Black Caps into the final of the T20 World Cup, as New Zealand chased down 170 with more than seven overs to spare.

But without a New Zealand Cricket central contract, Allen’s involvement in the longer formats is unclear.

After handing back his deal in 2024, Allen signed a casual playing agreement last year, effectively leaving him to play for New Zealand when it doesn’t clash with his franchise commitments.

A similar arrangement has been agreed this year, with Allen also joined by Tim Seifert, Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne.

And while those deals aren’t explicitly to be available for next year’s World Cup – considering India’s blockbuster all-format tour of New Zealand later this year – Larsen concedes the casually contracted players will come into consideration for the tournament, having expressed interest in playing in it.

Finn Allen scores a century and celebrates with Rachin Ravindra during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Photo / Photosport

“All four have got 50-over attributes, they’ve proven that over the years,” Larsen said. “How the schedule will pan out and what volume of 50-over cricket they can play will start to unfold.

“Finn is exceptionally talented, he’s one of the best ball-strikers in the world. One of the questions will be role definition, is it at the top of the order? Would he be better suited in a finishing role? The same could be said for Tim Seifert.

“The other thing to balance off there is we have a very successful ODI team as well. You take Kane out of that equation now, and you can argue there’s gaps that are opening. But we’ve also had a very strong batting line-up in the 50-over format.

“Does the likes of a Finn or [Seifert] fit into that? Yes, possibly. But there’s other emerging players around the country that will equally be given their opportunities to stake a claim as well.”

As a mark against Allen, he’s had little success in the 22 ODIs he’s already played, with a batting average of 27.71 and a high score of 96. On top of that, he’s not played a 50-over match – domestic or international – since March 2025.

And yet, as seen in T20 cricket, few players can match Allen at his best, with the skills he’s acquired on the franchise circuit clearly having a positive impact.

He would, though, face serious competition for a spot in the top order.

Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls have all successfully featured in the top three of the Black Caps order since the 2023 World Cup in India. Canterbury’s Rhys Mariu has also debuted as an eye to the future, while there are plenty of other players knocking the door down at domestic level.

While there have been no specific conversations between Allen, Larsen or Black Caps coach Rob Walter, any selection for the ODI World Cup must be earned on results, not reputation.

“There’s been loose discussion – like there is on any number of subjects – and that’s what selection is all about,” he said.

“Our job now is to, over the next few months, to narrow our thinking down to explore what we think might be viable, in terms of how we might use our resources, which include casually contracted players.

Finn Allen has been successful for New Zealand at T20 cricket. Photo / Arun Sankar, AFP

“There’s a lot of water to flow under the bridge yet. We’ve got good depth across the game now. There are younger players starting to push their cases quite hard.

“Performances mean a heck of a lot, it’s down to the players to shoot the lights out.”

Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.